Thursday, March 31, 2011

Do you have a runny nose?

Most likely this is not flu. Flu season is over in the Western Hemisphere and almost over on the East.

Google trends (on the right) show low activity in line with actual epidemiological data. As of March 20 (end of week # 11, 2011), flu activity in Europe and Russia is decreasing, and the peak is over in 38 countries of the region. Flu levels remain moderate in Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, some areas of Russia, and Ukraine where the percentage testing positive for influenza is 58%. The UK analyzed most of the viruses screened and identified 3% viruses resistant to oseltamivir but still sensitive to zanamivir.
Idaho was the last US state to get over flu in March, right after Nevada told it good bye.
Flu is almost over, but allergies are on the rise. High pollen levels, mostly from trees, are bad news for seasonal allergy sufferers.

Tree Pollen in US in March

Knowing what is going on in your area, including flu and pollen levels, will help you to determine the reason for your scratchy throat or headaches. Additional clues include if you feel it in your nose (cold) or behind the nose (allergy), if you have itchiness (allergy) or fever (cold).

Also, flu attacks you gradually while with allergies you get all the symptoms at once.

The EuroFlu bulletin describes and comments on influenza activity in the 53 countries in the WHO European Region.

No activity = no evidence of influenza virus activity (clinical activity remains at baseline levels)Sporadic = isolated cases of laboratory confirmed influenza infectionLocal outbreak = increased influenza activity in local areas (e.g. a city) within a region,
or outbreaks in two or more institutions (e.g. schools) within a region. Laboratory confirmed.Regional activity = influenza activity above baseline levels in one or more regions with
a population comprising less than 50% of the country's total population. Laboratory confirmed.Widespread = influenza activity above baseline levels in one or more regions with a population
comprising 50% or more of the country's population. Laboratory confirmed.